Cycle Chic Calendar 2012

So, it's that time of year again. Time for the annual Cycle Chic Calendar. This year we've chucked in 13 months - from Dec 2011 to Dec 2012. If memory serves, this is the fourth year in a row we've published a calendar.

Thanks for all the emails asking about when the calendar would be coming out - we've been a bit behind schedule this year - but we're pleased to launch it today. It's available over at Lulu.com.

We'll be explaining all about what The Cycle Chic Republic is in the coming weeks. We're looking forward to sharing it with you - all of us international Cycle Chic bloggers.

Cycle Chic Calendar for 2011

It's time. For the third year running we've whipped together a Cycle Chic Calendar. Here's the 2011 version. Available for purchase [and in time for Christmas] over at Lulu.com.

Above is the cover and here is a selection of some of the months:







Cycle Chic. The Calendar. For 2011.

Winner! Cycle Chic Doodle Contest

Well THAT was fun! A little brief, a bit too easy perhaps, but a load of fun. The SuperFreeDraw.com contest was won in a flash by Mathieu from Brussels, not least thanks to the fact that he got wind of the contest in a flash on the official Cycle Chic twitter feed.

You can see how the Cycle Chic collective drawing turned out, above. Thanks to everyone for doodling! You can still add your drawing over at the world's largest online collective doodle pad. You still have to find the Cycle Chic doodle, though.

Mathieu chose this Cycle Chic t-shirt as his prize for being the first to find our doodle. Not a bad choice. Felicitations, Mathieu!

Dual Glide, Boots and Cycling Legends

Strangely, the scuba-clad mannequin outside the dive shop doesn't attract the attention of these two Copenhageners. Go figure.


Boots. While we patiently await the emergence of this year's high heel shoes on Copenhagen's cycling heroines.

And remember kids:

Our cycling legends dress differently than yours. :-) Available as a framed print in our online shop.

Contest Winners

So, as promised, right here at 09:00 Central European Time, right here on Cycle Chic, ladies and gentlemen, the winners of the Cycle Chic/Velorbis Climate Conference Gorgeousness Competition.

First of all, thanks so much to everyone who participated. It was quite brilliant to read all the entries and it was difficult to choose the winner. I decided to award 2nd and 3rd prizes, too. T-shirts or posters from the Cycle Chic online shop.

At the end of the day, I just had to go with this entry:

Congratulations to Lauren from San Francisco! The text pushed the right buttons. It was a splendid mix of eco and chic. Mentioning that 'pushing off' moment so dear to this blog certainly didn't hamper any chance of winning. I like the idea of carbon neutral heels and the recognition of the Velorbis bicycle as being functional, as well as fabulous.

Lauren, time to send me an email so we can figure out how to get the bicycle to you. copenhagenize [at] gmail [dot] com. Please put WINNER in the subject line.

SECOND PRIZE
Lauren's entry beat this one by a hair. The hair of a perfect moustache.

If I get that bike, I promise that I will never ride it without a perfect moustache. Never.
Torval T

Congratulations to Torval for this brilliant, simple entry. Man, I would have loved to have seen you cycle away on the red devil with a perfect moustache. I hope you'll find something you like on the online shop. Please choose a t-shirt or a poster.
You, too, are asked to contact me by mail, with your prize selection, so I can get it sent off to you.

THIRD PRIZE(S)
I simply couldn't make the choice between these three entries so they all get a t-shirt or a poster from the online shop. Congratulations to Jen from Ventura, California, Pierre from Paris and Allison from Toronto! Please send me a mail at copenhagenize [at] gmail [dot] com after having a look at the t-shirts for men or t-shirts for ladies or the posters.

My chic silhouette cycling through the city, perfectly punctuated with crimson nails and ruby lips, will show the world that saving the planet is sexy.
Jen Van Sickle, Ventura, California


Studine, this is a love story. We'll meet in Copenhagen, if you'll wait. You, in your red dress, and I, will make things green.
Allison Yan, Toronto, Canada


A family estate. My wife will own it the time it takes for my daughter to become as stylish and empowered as her mother.
Pierre, Paris, France



HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Here's some entries that are worthy of honourable cycle chic mentions:

Goodbye car. Hello red bike. Hello, bus, hello train - meet bike. Hello rainy streets, hello passing motorist, hello sunshine and snowdrops- meet red bike.
Dan, Chicago, USA


El cycle won in a eco loci. Pedal! Go! O' glad, epic ol' ocean, I now "el cycle"!
(It's weird... but it reads both backwards and forwards!)
Leigh, Vancouver, Canada

"I will ride the deal in style! Wear red high heels, umbrella when it is raining and be in resonance with my smiley cycling face."
Catarina Fernandes, Hometown: Lisboa, Portugal

Again, thanks to everyone for entering the contest! We'll get some pictures of the magical moment when the red Studine from Velorbis becomes one with Lauren.

Have a great day!

London Recalling

So, just got back from London. It was a lovely visit and the photo assignment was great. I cycled all around London over two days and enjoyed it. I stayed a my friend Alice's flat. She had moved out and it was empty. I chuckled when I remembered the old Scorcese film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Here's me checking my A to Z map before embarking on the day's journey.


On Monday evening, after cycling like mad around the city, there was Cycle Chic on the menu. Andrea, owner of the Velorution bike shop in Great Titchfield Street, whipped up a little event in no time and it was great to meet readers and likeminded individuals. I said a few words and a few others presented cycle-related products, all while we snacked on Danish food.

Above is Amy from the cool Cyclodelic brand. We've blogged about them before and it was smashing to meet up. Amy was on her way home at this point, looking Cycle Chictastique on her bicycle.

Here's Velorution's shop. Lovely place.

It was also brilliant to meet readers, especially Jen from Chicago - now London - complete with her Cycle Chic tote bag! I rarely get to see people using the merchandise. Wonderful chatting with you, Jen!

Andrea, the owner of the shop, escorted me halfway home later on, after a beer. Thanks to him for whipping the little event together on such short notice.


Charles from Man on the Move presented a bespoke cushion designed to sit on the back rack and spare delicate bottoms from unforgiving back racks.


Two 'n Fro presented some cheeky clothing on two cheeky mannequins... and I love the way they rode off with them on their scooters.

Matt from Michaud Apparel has designd a brilliant Executive Pannier that doubles as baggage. Very bespoke and a lovely design. Check it out on his website Michaud Apparel.

Tony, who features in our Cycle Chic film from Brussels, presented t-shirts for I BIKE LDN, which we be available soon. Tony owns Cyclehoop, which makes cool bike racks for urban landscapes. They're already in place a number of locations in London. Nice.

Last but certainly not least, Richard Nolan-Neylan presented a sneak preview of his upcoming photo exhibition featuring Danish bicycles. 318 Danish bicycles in all. The exhibition is at photo-space at 530 Commercial Road, E1 from July 2 - 1 August.

London, as ever, rules. Used to live there and it was great to be back. More photos of London Cycle Chic on the way.

Vintage Cycle Chic For Your Wall

For the better part of a century we knew how to market cycling and bicycles. We focused on marketing freedom of movement, enjoyment, practical transport and effortlessness.

It all went wrong for the past three or four decades in many countries, where cycling strangely was relegated to merely a sport, a recreational activity or a child's toy.

The graphic design of vintage bicycle posters is brilliant and the message it is selling can't be beat. We have a lot to re-learn about marketing bicycle culture and these old posters are inspirational.


Now you can look at them every day on a wall near you. This poster features 56 of our favourite bicycle posters.

As always, it's available at our online boutique.

Or have a look at all the Cycle Chic et al goods.

Cycling in a Skirt?

The Guardian has a piece about cycling in a skirt. I guess the writer missed the epic, soon mythical, Cycle Chic Guide to Cycling in Skirts and Dresses... :-)

Gender Gap?
The New York Times has a piece today about how the Gender Gap persists in America. Women are a minority. Mikael was interviewed for it but only a single sentence made it past the scissors. :-)

Happy Birthday! Two Years With Cycle Chic

It's our birthday! Call someone and let them know!

Two years ago today, the Cycle Chic blog saw the light of day for the first time. The rest is history.

Wifealiciousness and I celebrate two special days in our relationship. The day we first kissed on a bench at 06:00 after a night out and the day we got married. It's kind of like that here on Cycle Chic.

As avid readers of this blog know, on November 14th, 2006, I took the photograph that started it all. On June 11th, 2007 I figured I'd start a blog, just to have my series of photographs gathered in one place.

Little did any of us know back then how the story would unfold. It certainly caught me by surprise, this sudden international interest in photographs of something that is completely normal for us in Copenhagen - well-dressed Copenhageners on bicycles.

In a way it's as though I started a vacuum cleaner blog because in Copenhagen our relationship to our bicycles is the same as our relationship to our vacuum cleaners. We all have them, we all use them, but we certainly don't think about them in the course of a day. Except when the bag needs to be changed/the tyre is flat. So for the sake of good order, here's my vacuum cleaner:


Before the international press got a hold the story, the first magazine to publish Cycle Chic photos was the always cool KBH Magasin. This was even before the blog started.

Back in the beginning of 2007 this spread was featured in a series about The Details of Copenhagen. You can see the evolution of the press coverage on the Press About The Blog page.

So what is 'Cycle Chic' apart from a useful phrase I coined to try and describe the fashionable art of riding bicycles in Copenhagen? Well, we've tried to sum it up in the Cycle Chic Manifesto, but sitting here two years on I suppose that Cycle Chic is a fantastic way to describe how bicycling used to be, how it is in many places and how it can be again elsewhere. The individual defines their own 'chic' and what is 'chic' in Copenhagen may not be 'chic' in Cork but the very simple act of riding around in your regular clothes on normal bicycles is something all of us know, all of us have tried [if only in childhood] and something that we can identify with. Cycle Chic is a mirror into which we can peer in order to see ourselves and our urban landscape in a new way. It's bicycle advocacy, sure. It's streetstyle, yeah. It's fashion on a bicycle, as opposed to bicycle fashion.

But Cycle Chic is urban planning and a way to redefine our cities and transform them in more liveable spaces.

It's about the bicycle in many ways but really, it's not only about the bicycle. The bicycle and infrastructure are merely tools for change in cities and towns.

Rereading this morning the page with testimonials from readers from the past two years is humbling and touching. Without you readers, this blog would be nothing. So thanks so much for visiting our little corner of the internet. It is also humbling to watch the list of blogs and articles inspired by Cycle Chic grow almost daily. It's on the right column, farther down, Copycats & Collaborators. Thanks to everyone involved.


You just KNEW that we couldn't have a birthday blogpost without my colleagues being involved. Lars, a film composer in real life, has been an epic contributor to Cycle Chic. He has really raised the photographic bar. He sent in a guest photo back in the day and was soon a regular contributor. Ironically, we found out that we both work in the film industry and that we have many things in common. So above is a birthday photo from Lars.


Marie [Velomama] blogs now and then, so here's a photo from her camera. I met Marie after she completed her thesis about "Everyday Modest Democracy - The Bicycle as a Symbol of Danishness". She had included Cycle Chic in the chapter about the iconic Cycling Girl in Danish history and how the tradition lives on here on the blog. We've been friends since. She now works for the City of Copenhagen's Bicycle Office, making our city even better for bicycles. Here's a birthday greeting from Marie:

Although my postings are sporadical, my heart has always been with this blog. I've been co-blogging here since early 2008. Once and again this blog has made me marvel at how the somewhat banal reality of Copenhagen's cycling culture - which we all take so much for granted here - can be an eyeopener for people elsewhere.

I find such poetry and reassurance in the fact that a popular, everyday phenomenon such as Copenhageners cycling around in their everyday clothes can actually inspire others and show the way forward towards more relaxed, livable and living cities all over the world.

Those of you who get a kick out of this blog: Find your own voice! Spread the message! Bicycles are for everyone! Big cheers, Velomama


And then there's Wifealiciousness. Susanne doesn't blog much here - she's too busy with her own style blog in Danish - but being my muse [and wife] she is a major part of this blog and I couldn't do any of this without her. She still gets interviewed about style and the blog, however.

In celebration of our birthday, a talented friend of mine, Rasmus Balstrøm, is penning some Cycle Chic illustrations. He's done these two and there are more on the way, which we'll be turning into posters. These two are available as postcards and the first one is also available as a mini print over at our online boutique.


The boy's got talent and has really captured the essence of cycling in Copenhagen. We're looking forward to his next batch of artwork.

Enough, already. It's our birthday! We shouldn't be sitting here blogging. It's time to celebrate. Thanks again to all our readers. We're looking forward to the next two years.

Copenhagen loves you.

YES! It's a celebration!

Umbrella Moods

The umbrella and the bicycle go hand in hand, as they have since the invention of the bicycle. I like these two shots. Winter. Nordic. Mood.



I particularly like the two first shots because they remind me of one of the photographers I admire the most. Daido Moriyama. He has a couple of bicycle shots in his fantastic reperatoire, including the one above. Not surprising, since he is Japanese.


And then there are these two evergreens of mine. Both available as postcards at our online boutique.

The Cycle Chic 2009 Calendar

So I figured I'd whip up a Limited Edition Cycle Chic Calendar for 2009. A photographic extravaganza of our cycling life in Copenhagen. Month by month, season by season, you can follow Copenhageners in their endless, rythmic cycle of life.

You'll recognise the photos from the blog, of course, and they are all accompanied by the same kind of pseudo-poetic texts. Not to mention inclusion of selected important events in the life of the city. For example:
February 14 - Charlotte picks up her bike from the shop. New tyres.
March 25 - Mads flirts with Sofie on the bike lane at the red light by The Lakes.
September 8 - Anne-Marie skips classes to squeeze in one last day at the beach.

And so on.

The calender is available for online purchase from Lulu.com. It measures 34.29 cm x 48.25 cm, comes with coil binding and is printed on Gloss White paper (100# weight).

When you click over to Lulu.com you can see a preview of the pages and zoom in and out and stuff. Let it load, sometimes it's slow.

Oh, and I called it a Limited Edition because it only helps you keep track of dates for 12 months from Janauary 2009 to Decemeber 2009. Which, considering the fact that it's been 14 billion years since the Big Bang, is a rather limited amount of time.

Treat yourself, buy it as a Christmas present for someone you fancy or just shrug and not bother and keep visiting the blog each day. Whatever works for you.

Motion Picture Bicycles

Headlights - TV

Here's another music video featuring the bicycle and a healthy portion of Cycle Chic. A group called Headlights with their single 'TV' from their debut album 'Kill Them With Kindness'. Really quite lovely. Cool bike, cool and casual people. Thanks to Colin for the heads up.


And while this is not a music video, it certainly is Brasil Cycle Chic. It's an advert for an auto insurance company who are promoting the bicycle. Nice irony. Makes me long for Brasil and Rio. Beautiful cinematography.


Here's a fun t-shirt design now available in our online boutique. These signs used to be standard in Denmark, featuring a dapper cyclist on a normal bike and complete with a brimmed hat. Let them all know that a stylish cyclist is on the way. There is a gentleman's t-shirt [pictured] and a couple of ladies styles.

Signage and Suchlike

Got a kick out of this sign, based on those strange American 'No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service' signs. I'd love to see these posted to the doors of fashionable shops and cafés. :-) Why not? In some places, baggy trousers that expose underwear are not allowed and you can even go to jail for wearing them. So it must be kosher to require customers/guests to adhere to the Copenhagen Cycle Chic basics. As ever, this design is also available on t-shirts for ladies, gentlemen and as posters/postcards at the Copenhagen Cycle Chic Online Shop.


Meanwhile, back on the bike lanes of Copenhagen...




Over at the Interbike Bike Fair, Richard from Cyclelicio.us took these photos of a cycle chic fashion show. The good word is spreading.

Calmly Calmly

Waiting for the light to change along the one of the busiest streets in the nation need not be a stressful affair.

The golden light of a late-autumn evening shines on this couple who walked slowly along outside my flat. She didn't need to pedal, he just pulled her along as they spoke in a quiet, intimate tone.


We added a few more t-shirt designs for gentlemen and ladies to our online shop. The idea above is that if you melt a car, you'll have enough metal to weld 118 bicycles. Frightfully unscientific but fun all the same.